Tuesday, March 15, 2016

I’m
very happy that our friend Richie Cruz won the first ever Philippine leg of the
Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition, he is the first ever Filipino to
represent our country and to compete at the 2016 Bacardi Legacy Global
competition that will happen soon this April 2016 in San Francisco, USA. Richie
will prepare now for another journey because he will compete with 35 bartenders
from all over the world.
The final night of the competition for the
Philippine leg was held in Buddha Bar last week March 10. I went there to
witness the result of the competition and also see our 5 pinoy bartender
finalist on how will they present and create their rhum cocktail
creations. Thanks to Richie and Mr. Ito for inviting me.

Last month, I
was invited to judge an inter school version – the Bacardi U-mix, its similar to
the Bacardi Legacy but targeted only for the young students who are taking HRM
classes and bartending. That inter school contest is part of Richie
and Bacardi’s advocacy to hone the talent and skills of our young bartenders, it
will be a good experience for them during their student level, so that as time
goes by, they can perfect the skills of being a bartender and mixologist, and
then in the future they can be a participant to represent the country for
another Bacardi Legacy Global competition.

My experience there is
awesome, I got to taste 16 rhum cocktails in one day and judge them all. I was
with the 2 finalist and two rhum cocktail aficionados as judges of that day. It
was a very different experience, I tried food crawls, coffee adventure and wine
tasting, but judging a Bacardi U-mix for students is very unforgettable.

Here at the Bacardi Legacy competition, the performance, presentation
and also the competition is not for student level, they require professional
bartenders and mixologist to join the contest, and I’ve learned that in the past
Bacardi Legacy Global competition there are participants that are Filipino (pure
blood) but they represent other countries and not the Philippines.

The
mission of Bacardi Philippines is to search for the best of the best rhum
cocktails created by a Filipino mixologist, and use it as an entry for the
global competition.

Richie Cruz now is our Manny Pacquiao for the Bacardi
Legacy, let’s wish that he won the global contest and his El Tindero be a part
of a legacy.

Richie’s
El tindero rhum cocktail entry. This drink was replicated now by bartenders
around Manila and soon around the world.

”This
trophy validates all those 18 years of doing the profession I love. It also made
me realize that I still have to do a lot of "shaking" as long as I still
can.....Thank you Bacardi Philippines now it's back to
work”
- Richie Cruz via
Facebook

Congratulations
to all of the participants and also to Bacardi for finally selecting
our representative for the Philippines. Lets go global!!!!! go go go El Tindero.

For more information about the Bacardi Global Legacy Cocktail Competition,
visit www.bacardi.com and like Bacardi’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BacardiLegacyGlobalCocktailCompetitionAbout Bacardi Legacy Cocktail CompetitionThe
Bacardi Legacy is a global competition that challenges the best contemporary
bartenders in the world to create balanced, refreshing, appealing and enduring
drinks that will become part of the illustrious BACARDI Cocktail Legacy
alongside classics such as The Original BACARDI Daiquiri and The Original
BACARDI Mojito.

The competition recognizes and nurtures the talent of
passionate, innovative bar professionals. The global winner’s reward will be
truly unique. Bacardi will offer year-long support to further their career by
creating experiences tailored to meet their goals – providing them with
opportunities to travel, work with the industry’s best and serve their original
‘Legacy’ cocktail at some of the finest bars in the world.